Judith Ward

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Fan
Name: Judith Ward
Alias(es):
Type: con organizer, fan guest, fan author
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Judith Ward in 2005

Judith Ward (born July 4, 1934, died July 3, 2006) was a Texas-based convention organizer, fan guest, and fan author whose works appeared in a number of fanzines.

She was involved in science fiction fandom in San Antonio, Texas from the late 1940s through the mid-2000s.

Ward was also an active member of two major Texas fan organizations: the Alamo Literary Arts Maintenance Organization (ALAMO) and the Fandom Association of Central Texas (FACT).

Fanzines

Ward edited issues of the Star Trek:TOS fanzines entitled The Ninth Quadrant and In a Plain Brown Wrapper, as well as contributing several stories and poems to each publication.

Con Organizer

She co-organized two conventions in San Antonio, Texas with Tony Wynn and Fran Booth, held in 1983 and 1984. Her good friend Kay Johnson was a fan guest at both events.

Fan Guest

Ward was a fan guest at several conventions in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. She remained the Fen Guest of Honor at FenCon III in Dallas, Texas on September 22-24, 2006 even though she had died two months previously.

The following are excerpts from a tribute to her published by FenCon III:

"Judith Ward RIP: Longtime fan Judith Ward, beloved across Texas and the Great Southwest, died of heart failure on the morning of Monday, July 3rd, 2006 in San Antonio. Judith was to be our Fen Guest of Honor for FenCon III and so she will remain.

Judith Ward orbited fandom from the early days of Asimov, Clarke, Hubbard and Campbell before the first fan convention in San Antonio, Texas. Born on the Fourth of July in 1934, Judith spent the first seven years of her life traveling on carnivals with her parents, who told her the fireworks were just for her. Known as the con-suite goddess of the Dallas Fantasy Faires from the late 1980s and early 1990s, her official title was "Admiral Lord God Ma'am Sir!"

Judith was one of the founding members of Texas fandom and an active member of FACT and ALAMO in San Antonio. We hoped to welcome Judith back to Dallas as she celebrated her thirty-odd years in fandom as our 2006 Fen Guest of Honor. We had seen her at ApolloCon in Houston just a couple of weeks before she passed so the shock of this news hit us especially hard. Judith is still our 2006 Fen Guest of Honor. Nobody in the world could possibly replace her..."[1]

References

  1. ^ Judith Ward, 1932-2006. FenCon. July 6, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-03-22.